Recent incidents involving Boeing aircraft have spooked nervous travelers, with some going so far as to rebook flights to get on a plane made by a different manufacturer. Adrian Rojas told NBC News that he doesn’t want to fly on a Boeing Max—the kind of plane that had a panel peel off in mid-air earlier this year, depressurizing the cabin. He changed a flight from Austin to Chicago scheduled for next month so he would be on an Airbus. Leila Amineddoleh had her flights to Miami and Europe refunded and bought new seats on Airbus planes. “I just can’t step on that plane,” she said. “Even if the chance of getting hurt on a Boeing flight, even with all these incidents, is slim.” The travel search engine Kayak says it has seen a spike in users taking advantage of an option that filters out specific plane models. Of course, experts note that rebooking isn’t foolproof; airlines can swap out planes at the last minute, leaving fearful passengers with a dilemma at the gate.
